Chattanooga police officer accused of being under the influence of alcohol at Riverbend

Chattanooga police officer accused of being under the influence of alcohol at Riverbend

June 18th, 2012by Staff Report in Local - Breaking News

Chattanooga Police Officer Steve Jones.

Chattanooga Police Officer Steve Jones.

Photo by
Contributed Photo
/Times Free Press.

A veteran Chattanooga police officer has been pulled off the job, accused of being under the influence of alcohol while riding a department motorcycle at Riverbend.

Officer Steve Jones, a 25-year veteran of the force, was on duty at Riverbend on Saturday when he was reported to be under the influence, said police spokesman Officer Nathan Hartwig. His blood was drawn and sent to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Hartwig said.

Police Chief Bobby Dodd has called a news conference today at 9:45 a.m. to address the incident.

Police internal affairs officers are investigating and Jones, who is on paid administrative leave, may face policy violations as well as criminal charges, Hartwig said.

Internal affairs is looking into "further concerns of how the preliminary investigation was handled," Hartwig said.